During a Republican debate in Tampa, Florida, presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) alleged that campaign contributions from drug company Merck—the maker of Gardasil—played "a pivotal role in Rick Perry’s 2007 executive order that mandated teenage girls in Texas be inoculated against HPV,"CNN reports.

The order did not go into effect, however, as it was later overturned by the legislature.

Still, it’s hard to overlook the potential for undue influence and conflict of interest. Perry responded that the company gave only $5,000 to his campaign.

However, Merck has contributed:

·$28,500 to Perry’s gubernatorial campaigns since January 2001, and

·$377,500 to the Republican Governors Association (one of the largest backers of Perry’s campaigns)

"Perhaps more importantly, Perry’s friend, former chief of staff Mike Toomey, spun through the revolving door to become a lobbyist for Merck in Texas, a position he held at the time of the HPV-related executive order.

For instance, drug-maker Novartis Pharmaceuticals has also contributed handsomely to the Republican Governors Association and it has also benefited from Perry’s support. Novartis has donated $700,000 to the RGA since January 2006, although it has only directly donated $5,000 to Perry’s own campaign. In 2009, Perry signed a bill into law mandating meningitis vaccines for all college students, a requirement he expanded again earlier this year."

CDC Officially Recommends Gardasil for Boys

On October 25, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend giving the HPV vaccine to males between the ages of 11 and 21. They further recommend the vaccine series can be given to boys as young as nine, as well as to men up to the age of 26, especially if they engage in homosexual sex—allegedly to offer partial protection against genital warts, and cancers of the penis and rectum.

Interestingly enough,according to CNN Health, a large portion of the debate was focused on whether it would be cost-effective to vaccinate boys against HPV.

While cost-effectiveness is certainly an important concern, I believe reviewing the safety would certainly trump it. CNN reports that the cost to vaccinate 11- and 12-year old boys would be $38 million.

Deaths caused by anal cancer: 770. Gardasil is claimed to be 75 percent effective against anal cancer in men, so crunch the numbers… This is nothing short of insanity.

Why the push to vaccinate boys with Gardasil?…Because "girls aren’t getting vaccinated in the numbers doctors had expected," CNN reports. "If the boys are also immunized, it reduces the transmission back and forth…" Folks, this is a health emergency in the making. Please do not be deceived into giving this dangerous vaccine to your kids, regardless of their gender.